Chinese bishops must repent illicit ordinations, Vatican says

[Pax_et_Bonum]

Chinese bishops must repent illicit ordinations, Vatican says
June 13, 2011
Chinese prelates who were ordained without Vatican approval, or participated in such illicit ordinations, should make a public display of their repentance, the Vatican has said.

A new document from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, the Vatican body charged with interpretation of canon law, has underlined the determination of the Holy See to stop the unauthorized ordinations of bishops which have been organized by the Catholic Patriotic Association in defiance of the Vatican.

The Vatican document, which was published in L’Osservatore Romano, reminds readers that the ordination of a bishop without permission from the Holy See is a grave canonical offense, for which the penalty is automatic excommunication. That penalty may not be incurred if a bishop is forced to participate in the ceremony, the Pontifical Council concedes. Nevertheless, the illicit ordinations cause division in the Church, and those who have been involved should undertake some public penance to atone for their misdeeds.

catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=10655

 

[matt1985]

I don’t understand why the Chinese government won’t let the Catholics pick their own bishops.

 

[rben20]

Why aren’t they excommunicated? Or are they?

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

Why aren’t they excommunicated? Or are they?

The Vatican document, which was published in L’Osservatore Romano, reminds readers that the ordination of a bishop without permission from the Holy See is a grave canonical offense, for which the penalty is automatic excommunication. That penalty may not be incurred if a bishop is forced to participate in the ceremony, the Pontifical Council concedes. Nevertheless, the illicit ordinations cause division in the Church, and those who have been involved should undertake some public penance to atone for their misdeeds.

 

[Argh]

I don’t understand why the Chinese government won’t let the Catholics pick their own bishops.

The Chinese Communist Party/Government of the People’s Republic of China does not allow religious freedom because it does not want political rivals. Essentially, the CCP does not want any other voice of authority in China that could stand in its way and heavily restricts all forms of organized religion - Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, etc. Worse yet, the Catholic Church is "foreign" because the Holy Father, currently a German, is based in the Vatican.